Iceland will contribute 500 million ISK ($3.8 mil) to international projects promoting vaccinations.
Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir announced that Iceland will donate 250 million ISK to the Gavi Vaccine Alliance at an international conference hosted by the organisation on May 4th. The same amount will also be given to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI).
Gavi is an alliance of public and private organisations with the aim of improving access to vaccinations for children in the world’s poorest communities. So far it has helped vaccinate more than 760 million children.
Many other states also pledged to donate to Gavi, including the US, Canada, the UK, Germany and Norway. The virtual summit raised US $8.8 bn, exceeding its initial goal of $7.4 bn.
Katrín stressed the importance of equal access to vaccines, regardless of wealth or nationality in a speech at the conference.
“Equal access to health services is one of the most important aspects of health and guarantees basic human rights”, she stated.
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